Talk:Miles O'Brien
O'Briens birth year What's the source of the 2331 date for O'Brien's birth?--TimPendragon 22:06, 19 September 2006 (UTC) I don't know, but Memory Alpha list his birth in 2328, as did my original entry. The change was made by an anonymous user on July 3rd. As Mr. Anonymous didn't list a source, I'll change it back.--Turtletrekker 23:56, 19 September 2006 (UTC) Are you still into calling me anonymous? :( 2331 is from the script for Whispers! --Stripey 08:51, 20 September 2006 (UTC) :Well checking back at the history and seeing when 2331 was added, the IP number 212.50.170.93, was shown to make the change, so, technically it was an anonymous user. It's great that you was able to obtain that information, as they have trouble on Memory Alpha. :-)--The doctor 09:00, 20 September 2006 (UTC) What the doctor said about the IP number. I went ahead and changed it back. Thanks for the quick response, Stripey.--Turtletrekker 07:16, 21 September 2006 (UTC) 2331 makes the most sense, and that tracks perfectly with "Shadowplay" (joined Starfleet at 18) and "Rules of Engagement" (twenty-two years in Starfleet). The 2328 date on Memory Alpha seems to be based on nothing more than inference from their 2347 date of Setlik III, taken with the "Shadowplay" reference. --TimPendragon 23:36, 23 September 2006 (UTC) Again? This again... As we have already been through this, and until someone comes up with a source other than Memory Alpha (which is by no means definitive) for the 2328 date, I'm changing it back to 2331. 66.134.12.122, you really should create an account for yourself, log in, and join the community. --Turtletrekker 21:39, 30 November 2006 (UTC) Whispers Script Okay, above Stripey claimes that the 2331 date for O'Brien's birth is from the script to Whispers. I've been told by people on Memory Alpha that the script only states that his birthday is September 1st, and doesn't mention the year. Stripey, are you positive it says 2331? MA still insists on the 2328 date, based on a very ambiguous line from "Realm of Fear" taken with a reference to transporter usage in "Paradise" and his line about joining the Fleet at 18 in "Shadowplay." The "Realm of Fear" and "Paradise" lines are really open for interpretation, but good luck trying to get them to see that. The most concrete thing we have is in "Rules of Engagement" when Miles says he has been in Starfleet for 22 years. 2372 - 22 = 2350. Take that with his "I joined Starfleet when I was 18" line from "Shadowplay": 2350 - 18 = 2332. So he was born in either 2332 or 2333, depending on the month of his enlistment. What this means is that the MA-derived 2347 date cannot be accurate, since O'Brien wasn't even in the fleet yet. MA gets the date from his line in "Realm of Fear" about "doing this for 22 years," referring (in general) to transporters. It's ambiguous though. And they couple that with what he tells Sisko in "Paradise" about first operating a transporter on Setlik III, though the conversation is again ambiguous. MA ignores the concrete dates established by "Rules of Engagement" (2350 enlistment) and "Tribunal," which says that the Setlik III massacre was "8 years ago" from 2370, giving us 2362. "Tribunal," "ROE" and "Shadowplay" are concrete, "Paradise" and "Realm of Fear" are ambiguous and inconclusive. The only thing that may actually contradict a 2362 date for Setlik is that O'Brien said the Rutledge was an early assignment for him, which would be odd if he'd been in the fleet for 12 years already. But even that is still ambiguous enough that it doesn't take precedence over the hard dates. He could have meant one of his first starship assignments - maybe he worked on a Starbase or outpost before then. Bottom line, 2332 or 2333 for his birth (I'd go with '32), and 2362 for Setlik III. In this case, MA is way off base, placing more value on earlier-but-ambiguous statements and generalities, over hard dates established in DS9. --TimPendragon 05:19, 18 January 2007 (UTC) :Thought you guys might like to know that the Star Trek Fact Files list his DoB as 2331. -- 8of5 04:23, 26 January 2007 (UTC) ::Assuming the Fact Files are licensed sources, that pretty much clinches it. Bear in mind that if O'Brien was born in September of '31, and enlisted in early 2350 (i.e. before Sept), he would have still only been eighteen, so that works. Also, "Whispers" only says his birthday is in September; it doesn't specify the day to my knowledge (this is off my reading the script on TrekCore). -- Data Noh 23:12, 24 April 2007 (UTC)